One Drink
by margerykempe
Summary: One shot. "For someone so drunk on soju, she was surprisingly insightful."


"You have to take me. No one else will."

"You're ridiculous."

Eun Sang stopped and turned to look at him. Her face was serious and her eyes pleaded with him. "Choi Young Do, I want to drink. Chan Young won't take me because he thinks that I'm being childish. Besides, Bo Na would have his head on a platter if he came with me. Lee Hyo Shin just laughed at me when I asked."

Young Do snorted.

"But, I guess if you won't, I could always ask Jo Myung Soo to take me to the club," she said, her voice determined.

That was a very bad idea. He didn't like it at all.

Sighing, he assented. "All right. One drink. I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

* * *

He took her to a _pojangmacha_ that he went to occasionally—mostly to escape his father. It wasn't usually busy, but there were always enough people there to allow him to blend into the crowd. She was the only person he would consider bringing here.

"Ahjumma, ddeokbokki and soju, please." He caught the eye of the older woman cooking and she nodded.

The minute the soju was placed on the table, Eun Sang reached for it, a look of determination on her face.

"Slow down. I'll pour." He filled her glass halfway.

She was annoyed.

"Start there," he ordered. "We don't even know if you can hold your liquor yet."

Pouting, she threw the half shot back. Her face contorted in disgust and she started coughing.

"More," she ordered.

It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

Two more bottles of soju later, he was starting to regret his decision.

"Ahjumma! More soju! We need more soju!" Eun Sang danced around the table, punctuating her words with a kind of shuffling dance step.

"Ahjumma, we're good here. We don't need anything else." He moved to grab her and sit her back down, but she fell into his lap instead.

"Young Do! Not here! What will people think?" Then she collapsed into giggles, still seated on his lap.

"Alright, you've had enough. It's time to go home." It was then he realized that he couldn't take her home. If her mother saw her like this— He sighed. Why hadn't he thought of that? He was going to have to call Bo Na and see—

His train of thought was interrupted as she put her hands on both sides of his face and turned him to look at her. The expression on her face made him fear the worst.

"Young Do," she said seriously. "Has anyone ever told you that your eyebrows look like little fuzzy caterpillars?"

"What?"

"Is that why you pet them so often?" she mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Okay, that's it. I'm calling Bo Na to come get you." He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing.

She grabbed for the phone and a small tussle ensued, ending when the phone slipped through both of their hands and landed with a loud crack on the pavement. He shifted her out of his lap on to a nearby chair and bent to retrieve the phone. The screen was cracked.

"Great," he muttered. "Do you have your phone?"

She pulled out her phone and pawed at the screen. "Battery's dead!" she chirped.

Sighing, he scooped her up, causing her to squeal loudly. "It's time to go." He spoke carefully, emphasizing his words as if talking to a child.

She pouted, but made no move to free herself. He left a generous stack of bills on the table and started walking toward the main road.

His arms were starting to ache, but he made no move to put her down. She'd been quiet for a long time and he was starting to wonder if she was asleep.

Finally, she spoke. "Young Do?"

"Yes?"

"Are we friends?"

It wasn't a question he'd been expecting. He was silent for a moment and he could feel her tense up slightly.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"Can we be friends?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know? Have I done something to you?" He could tell that she was angry—hurt even.

He shifted her slightly, trying to alleviate the soreness in his arms. "Cha Eun Sang, I hardly think this is the time—"

"It's never the time!" she shouted. The vehemence of her outburst surprised him and he nearly dropped her.

Setting her on her feet, he spoke softly to her, "We can talk about this later. Right now I need to find a taxi and get you to—"

"No!" She stomped her foot. "No. Now. You've been avoiding me since I broke up with Kim Tan. I thought at first it was out of some weird sense of loyalty, but I'm beginning to wonder if that's really it."

For someone so drunk on soju, she was surprisingly insightful.

"I— I don't make friends easily," he said slowly. She watched him for a moment, then turned and started walking unsteadily. He rushed to catch up with her, trying to keep her from falling over. They walked again in silence.

"Young Do."

"Yes?"

"I didn't ask anyone else."

He stopped in his tracks.

She kept walking, but he reached forward and pulled her back by her elbow.

"What?"

"I never asked anyone else to take me out drinking. Only you."

He was confused. Why would she do that?

"You really don't understand, do you?" she asked.

"No," he admitted.

People generally didn't enjoy his company. He was mean. Sometimes he beat people up, though not as much lately. Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't hit anybody for quite some time. It was odd.

She swayed in front of him, clearly struggling to keep herself upright. He grabbed her arms to stop her from falling.

"No!" She smacked his arms away. "I'm going to say this. Now." She straightened, throwing her shoulders back and staring him square in the eyes. "Choi Young Do, I like you." Suddenly, her face turned green and she ran towards the bushes.

He sighed and ran after her, getting there just in time to hold her hair back out of the way. When she was done, she stood up and dug a tissue out of her pocket, wiping her mouth. She burst into tears.

Young Do was startled. He awkwardly patted her back.

"You're always nice to me. Why? Why are you so nice to me and mean to everyone else? This isn't how I wanted this to go. I just was scared and I thought if I had a drink it would be easier and then this happened and now—" She stopped babbling for a moment to gasp for air between sobs. "Now I threw up in front of you and you'll never want to be around me again."

He scooped her up again, walking down the street as she continued to cry softly. After a while, she was quiet. She had gone limp and he was pretty sure she was falling asleep. Soon he heard a soft snore.

Finally, he saw a taxi. Hailing it, he slid her in gently, careful not to wake her. Propping her head on his shoulder, he looked down at her.

For the first time in a long time, he smiled.

* * *

Eun Sang borrowed a pair of Bo Na's sunglasses to wear to school the next morning. Bo Na had spent the car ride berating her for her careless behavior "with Choi Young Do, of all people!"

She walked in to the school, head down, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. Her shame felt palpable. With a little luck, she had successfully made it to her locker and back down the hallway without attracting attention.

As she walked, she felt fingers intertwine with hers. Shocked, she looked to her left to see Young Do casually walking beside her, holding her hand.

He stared forward as he spoke. "Don't mention the caterpillars again." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"If I promise not to mention them, can I pet them occasionally?" she countered.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway and drew her close, attracting the attention of passing students. "Only if you promise you'll never go drinking without me."

They walked to class, hand in hand.


End file.
